3 TOP PEAK PERFORMANCE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL ARTICLES FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 15, 2014

Each week I read a number of peak performance and entrepreneurial articles from various online resources. Here are my top three picks this week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

How I Had To Change My Mindset When I Became An Entrepreneur
By: Ryan Clements

2008 was the last time that I received a paycheque as an employee. Ever since that time, 100% of our family income has been business income derived from various entrepreneurial ventures.  Read More

My Comment:  Research, learn, apply the learning, develop to grow

Marcus Mariota Winning the Heisman Gives Hope That The Man Is Remembered As Much As The Player
By: Jason Quick

While most around the nation looked at Marcus Mariota holding his Heisman Trophy on Saturday night and thought of his excellence on the football field, there was an entirely different reaction from his own team in Eugene.  Read More

My Comment:  Being nice is the key ingredient to success

Internal and external health: What’s that?
By Rick Daman

Health is internal and external. The majority of people want external healthy appearances. Maybe we all do. But is an external healthy appearance more important than internal health? This is what we need to figure out before we start and continue our quest to a healthy lifestyle. How do you look at exercise and health?  Read More

My Comment: Excellent explanation of the importance of your inner voice

Come Out of Your Shell

“You’re suppose to shine brighter.” – Raj Gavurla

When performance coaching there are reasons why people don’t consistently perform well.  Although we may do something excellent, sometimes we don’t know what makes it excellent.  Here are tips to help you know how to perform and to make it easier for you to deliver better results.

1.  Mentally Prepare and Debrief

There are so many people asking too much of themselves.  What do I mean?

 Examples:

Winging a Presentation

By actually investing time and really looking at the words, how it sounds, and your body movements you can gain tremendous appreciation for the art of speaking and improve your communication skills.  The most essential skill we have is our ability to communicate.  We communicate when we speak, write, present, and perform.  One of the best ways to learn is through self-awareness when you see someone else doing it well.  It will take time for you to learn how to become more appreciative, however, as you do learn to pay attention you’ll start to build your knowledge base of communication skills.  Then, apply them to your work. Look into hiring a presentation skills coach.

Not preparing for a conference call

By preparing ahead of time you’ll know how to start a call and take it to productive completion.  Put a structure to your call.  Some helpful questions to prepare:

1.  What has been happening with this person?

2.  What is the most important thing we need to discuss?

3.  What steps are needed to make progress?

4.  How does each of us come out ahead?

Making a sales call without going through how to respond to prospects needs, wants, sensitivities, and concerns

This is why sales people experience fear and do not feel comfortable selling.  When you are discovering and offering real value you are being helpful.  Prospects and clients want this and with your help you can solve their needs.  If you can’t help or solve their need, then refer them to someone else.

Scheduling too many meetings back to back not giving you ample time to refocus and prepare

Keep in mind you want quality productivity not super productivity.  With quality you feel a sense of accomplishment.  With super productivity you’re in a rat race.

Not asking the right question 

We are in dynamic times requiring adaptability and agility.  Ask the right question and you’ll get the answers you need to be helpful and make wiser decisions.  During your research you might think it’s obvious what they need, however, until you actually have a conversation you will not know the best solution.  After delivering excellent results, debrief to know what made it so.  Sometime we do things excellently, however, we don’t have the knowledge of what is being done to make it come across as excellent.

This happens a lot when presenting or performing.  For example, while performing I asked someone afterwards what makes that line funny.  I don’t mean to funny.  Their response was the way I dead pan it.  That was what made it funny.  Now I have an expanded knowledge base I can use at the appropriate time.  There are countless examples like this one.  When you are skilled at using them your results will be better.  You’ll shine brighter and have a robust repertoire of skills.

3 TOP PEAK PERFORMANCE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL ARTICLES FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 8, 2014

Each week I read a number of peak performance and entrepreneurial articles from various online resources. Here are my top three picks this week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

STRATEGY Ten Ways to Spot an Opportunity
Finding ways to compete differently is hard. This will make it easier.
BY PAUL B. BROWN

Once you come up with a promising insight, there is no guarantee that success will follow, of course.
You need to turn a great insight into a thriving business, which is incredibly difficult.
But with that throat-clearing out of the way, you can apply 10 simple tests to discover an idea worth pursuing.
Read More

My Comment: Excellent approaches for growth strategies

Regain Focus Right Now With This 15-Minute Exercise
Feeling distracted? Here are 5 simple steps to quickly get you back on point.
BY KEVIN DAUM

People are often multitasking today, but sometimes it just becomes overload, and then distraction can overwhelm you. If you are doing work that requires concentration, you will need to regain your focus to complete the job. Read More

My Comment: Keeping a notebook works. Learn how to get in your zone

7 Foods That Help Boost Your Mood
By: CARINA WOLFF

When stressed out or feeling down, it’s usually not our first instinct to turn to food as a cure. Many of us have heard the famous quote by Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food,” and this philosophy also holds true when it comes to boosting your mood. Food plays a huge role in our physical health, but it surprisingly affects our mental health as well. Read More

My Comment: Consistency and variety are needed